Winchester
by Carol3059
Summary: Chris has been waiting months for this moment...rewrite. No slash.
1. Chapter 1

This is a rewrite of an old story of mine. I liked the idea but it was one of my first stories and it wasn't my greatest. This is definitely going to be different, although with the same basic idea.

I don't own anything.

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This is my prologue.

_There's a way. There's gotta be. A better way than this. Than sacrificing half the world for their game. There's always a better way…_

Chris closed his eyes and rested his head on the desk. He did not close the journal, though. He couldn't seem to help himself. He'd read these words so many times that he practically knew them by heart.

There were two sitting in front of him. Scraps of paper falling out of both of them, written by two different people. He'd put his demon hunting on hold for the past week, put the search for whatever turned Wyatt in the future on hold.

The closer he got to the important date he'd been anticipating since coming back to the past the more nervous he got. He was still praying that he hadn't screwed up the past too much. It was supposed to happen tonight.

Bianca had protested against him bringing these journals back with him but Chris couldn't help himself. He hadn't been without them for years now and he couldn't seem to leave them behind. They were the only connection he had now…

He chewed his lip, flipping through them both. He knew everything they said and was grateful that they had been written. Though, Chris still shied away from some parts of them. There were things that he had read in them that he never wanted to read again, things that he didn't understand how anybody could go through and stay sane.

They carried so much personal information, much more so than the third journal that Chris _had _left in the future. Chris looked down at one of them and flipped to a page that he had read once and never again. He had never wanted to read these pages again.

He wondered what the man who had written this journal would think if he knew Chris had it. Chris knew that he'd never intended anyone to read it but he had written _everything _down. There was five years worth of history bound in leather in front of him.

He'd been arguing with himself over these journals since his decision to come to the past. He _had _to change what happened to Wyatt but that wasn't the only thing he'd considered changing.

The problem, of course, was that he wasn't sure if he could change anything without making it all worse. The price they would all pay if he failed to save Wyatt would be relatively high but the price they would pay if he messed up something that was written in these journals was a hell of a lot higher. It wouldn't be just his family that paid but the entire world.

Chris flipped the page again after staring at it. He couldn't read that again. He wouldn't. He'd never known anything about this stuff when he was a child, before everything had gone to hell.

Chris flipped to the first page and stared at the words there. The words that, in this time, wouldn't be written down for almost a year yet.

_So, I guess here I am.. Whining like a bitch and writing here like a thirteen year old girl with her first diary. But, fuck it. I left everything behind for this. I left HER for this. To help him deal. To make sure this thing doesn't come after her too. I left them both and even if we kill this thing tomorrow, I'll never forgive myself for that…_

Chris closed his eyes once again and sighed. P3 would be opening soon. He had about two hours before it was supposed to happen. Chris got up, put the journals away in the hiding place he'd found, the one he was sure that Piper would never find and went out into the club.

He secured himself a spot in the corner as the people started to come in, a place he could watch the door. It was going to be a long night.

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It was exactly two hours and eighteen minutes when the person that Chris had been waiting for since he'd come back to the past walked through the door of P3. A man, tall with dark blonde hair, wearing boots, a leather jacket, and faded jeans.

Dean Winchester made his way over to the bar where Piper was serving drinks and Chris let out a relieved breath. The tension that he'd been feeling since coming back to the past faded, at least for the moment and he sank back into his seat. He hadn't screwed things up too much after all.


	2. Chapter 2

I know this is really short. I had this longer but the transitions didn't seem very smooth when I looked at it the way it was so I put the rest in the next chapter instead.

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_It wasn't supposed to happen like this. She wasn't supposed to happen... _

"No, I'm just passin' through. Although," Dean leaned across the counter. "I might stay a little longer."

"Right," the girl…woman said with a little smirk of her own. "And why would you do that?" The sarcastic edge in her voice made him laugh outright and lean back again. He'd been sitting at the bar talking to her for at least twenty minutes now and hadn't had the urge to leave yet.

"How'd you get this place so popular anyways?" He usually went for places a little less crowded than this. Little dives where he could drink in peace but he was happy that he'd decided to stop into this particular club.

"What, you don't think I could do it by myself?"

"Oh, no. I'm sure you could."

"Well, I did have a little help from my sisters…" She smiled a little.

"So…you work nights here right? Any chance you'll be here tomorrow?" She considered him for a moment. She dipped her head, her long dark hair falling across her face and gave him a smile that was almost shy.

"Well, I will be here early tomorrow. If you want to come…you know, before we open."

"I think I could pull that," he said with a grin of his own, sitting down his glass and waving on his way out.

It didn't hit him until he'd made it back to the motel that he'd spent a half hour talking to her and hadn't thought about anything else once, that she'd driven his dad, Sam, the job out of his mind completely for the time they'd been talking.

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"Oh, god. What am I doing?" Piper rested her head on the bar after he'd left. She'd gotten so caught up, talking to him. She couldn't help it. The guy was gorgeous and funny and she hadn't thought about Leo once in the time they'd been talking.

She'd tried dating before, even gone so far as to set up a date but every time she'd think of Wyatt or how it had ended with Leo and she'd backed out. This guy, though. _This guy who's only twenty five and had let slip that he wasn't staying in town for long…_Piper shook her head. It was just a date. Just one date. She could do that.

She could have some fun with this guy before he left the city. She didn't have to put anything deeper into it. Still, even if she'd managed not to show it, she'd been a bundle of nerves. Dean seemed more Paige or Phoebe's type than hers.

Then again, what _was _her type? She had dated a demon, a ghost and gotten married to her whitelighter. Her history with men was admittedly a little screwy.

_Don't overanalyze. It's just a date, it's not like you have to look for potential husbands in every guy you go out with. _She shook the thoughts away when Paige sat down in the seat that Dean had vacated.

"Robbing the cradle a little bit, aren't we?" Piper groaned and threw the rag she'd been cleaning with at Paige's head.

"I hate you."

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_They don't believe but it doesn't matter. It's coming. Cas can't stop it and I don't know if we can either. The ends coming and all I want to do is go back to San Francisco and be with them…Cas says she's safe. At least I got that..._

The world was burning. He was there this time, walking among the field of bodies of people he didn't know, people he'd only read about. The two blonde women. He'd read about how they'd died.

Two older guys. One of them family by blood the other family by right. He'd met one. He vaguely remembered that.

The last…that man with blonde hair and green eyes the same color as his own. Now more were added. Three women…children that he knew. And standing in the center, the only ones unharmed…

He recognized both. The one on the left with long, curly blonde hair and blue eyes. The one on the right with dark brown hair, standing about five inches taller. The fire was coming. He could see it in the taller one's eyes. He could smell the bodies burning around him, could hear somebody calling to him. Someone was shaking him….

Chris jerked awake and then away from the person that had been shaking him. He stared up into familiar dark green eyes and tried to shake the nightmare away. That was what he got for reading those journals before trying to sleep.

"You alright?"

"Uh…yeah." Chris was very suddenly, _painfully_ aware of the man's close proximity. "I'm fine," Chris said forcefully. Dean held his hands up and backed away.

"Okay." Dean glanced around the room and raised an eyebrow. "You live in here?" Chris shrugged.

"I know the owner. What are you doing here anyways?"

"Waiting on the owner. Heard you yellin'."

"Well, I'm fine," Chris repeated because he needed Dean to leave. _Like now._

"Alright, kid," Dean said, raising his hands in mock surrender and turning to leave.

"I'm not a kid," Chris said and he was aware that he was pouting. Dean gave him a strange little frown. "What?"

"Nothing." Dean shook his head and headed out.

Chris watched him go and sighed, leaning back. His heart was still racing but this time not from the nightmare. He was used to nightmares. He'd been having them since he was fourteen. He was still going to have to get used to Dean being so close.

After a few minutes, Chris went to the door and cracked it. He saw Piper come in, saw her and Dean sit down. Closing the door, he rested his head against it. Everything was happening the way it was supposed to.

Chris orbed out, reforming on top of the bridge and sat down. Leo had shown him this place and the man had been right. It was a good place to think.

The sisters believed him. They would until he said otherwise. He knew that now. He'd been a little worried about it when he'd first come back, a little worried that seeing them would be to hard, that he'd give himself away as soon as Piper walked into the room with him. Cutting himself off from it had worked pretty well but seeing Dean and Piper together had set him reeling worse than seeing the sisters for the first time had, though.

He wondered idly what Sam was doing and it had startled him a little when he first realized that Sam was in the same state, not to far from where he was sitting, still in school.

It was all very strange and a hell of a lot more jarring than he'd thought it would be. No matter how much time he'd spent planning for this with Bianca, some things you just couldn't prepare for.


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey, Chris." Chris looked up and let out a breath as the girl sat down next to him on top of the bridge.

"I'm dreaming," he said a little sadly but he still smiled. He couldn't help but to.

"Yeah," she said with her own smile. "But, hey. At least you get to see me. Who wouldn't want to see me?" She asked, green eyes sparkling. Chris shook his head.

"They'd have to be crazy." He sat next to her for a moment. "I do wish you were really here."

"You sure? I might have spilled the beans as soon as I saw them."

"It would have been worth it."

She smiled wider and looked down over the city. "So, I take it you're avoiding him," she commented after a moment.

"He'll figure it out. I could never seem to hide anything from him," Chris pointed out.

"I don't know. The sisters don't suspect anything."

"Yeah, well. I love them but they can be blind about some things. They accept what I tell them at face value. They won't look deeper unless I give them reason to."

"But he might." She nodded thoughtfully. "I can't believe Piper didn't know as soon as she saw you."

"I covered pretty well. After you…after, I got pretty good at lying."

"Yeah, I know. Can't say I'm happy you had to learn that skill. I can't say that I'm happy you're using it here either."

Chris shook his head. "You don't have to worry."

"You are my big brother. Of course I do."

Chris could feel the heat coming. "Mary?"

"Hm?"

Chris did not look over at her, not at that moment. "This is about to turn into a nightmare, isn't it?"

"Sorry, Chris."

When he looked over at her, her dark blonde hair was lit up and so were her clothes. Chris jerked when the flames reached her face and came suddenly awake on the couch in P3.

He lay there for several moments, trying to calm his heart. He'd known it was coming, of course. It didn't make it any easier.

* * *

"Hey," Paige said when she walked into the kitchen. Piper was making breakfast.

"Hey." Paige frowned as soon as Piper met her eyes.

"What's wrong?" The question came immediately and Piper rolled her eyes.

"Why would there be anything wrong?" Piper asked a little defiantly.

Paige raised an eyebrow and peered at the breakfast that Piper had made. "You've been worrying about something, I can tell."

"Maybe…" Piper sighed and stopped what she was doing, turning her full attention to Paige. "Okay, so it's stupid but I can't seem to relax. I mean, I keep telling myself that I should. It's not like I have to look for a husband in every guy I want to date but I really haven't dated in three years, so…"

"I get it," Paige said, raising a hand. "You hear that Dean is a few years younger than you and that he's probably going to be leaving in a few days..."

"Pretty much." Piper shrugged, and then shook her head. "No, wait. It's not just that. It's just the whole dating process. I mean, I go out on a date and then I start thinking about Wyatt and Leo and I can't seem to go through with it."

"You can't let Leo hold you back forever. And you're not going to be labeled a bad parent for going out and having fun with a guy that you know isn't going to get serious."

"Maybe that's my problem," Piper said with a frown. "It's always been serious for me. I mean, even with the guy I dated before Leo, it was serious and that was years ago."

"But it doesn't always have to be and that can be a good thing. You should really stop thinking about it so much. Just go with it. Have some fun before he leaves the city. Maybe it'll help you move on."

* * *

"I don't usually do this," Piper said, although and she didn't push him away when he kissed his way down her jaw line and pulled her closer.

"You want me to stop?" Dean asked, pulling his head away and staring up at her. Piper hesitated. This was only her second date with him and she really didn't usually do this. Then she remembered her conversation with Paige. She liked Dean and he made _her_ feel _hot_.

"God, no." She pushed him down on the bed.

* * *

Piper was grinning as she served drinks at the club. She'd spent two nights with Dean already and she did like him. She did still feel a little guilty about it but that was fading the more she thought about Paige's words and that her sister was right. This type of relationship may not have been her style but she was willing to go with it…besides, she hadn't had as much fun since before she and Leo had broken up.

"So," a familiar voice broke into her thoughts. "When does this place close?" Piper glanced over to find Dean leaning on the counter of the bar with a grin on his face.

"Why?" Piper couldn't help the smile as she walked over to him. "Waiting for someone?"

* * *

"You have a kid?" Dean asked with a raised eyebrow as he followed Piper into the manor. She didn't have anyone to babysit so she'd asked Dean over. Paige and Phoebe would both be out.

"I do," Piper answered a little warily. She wondered what he was going to do, if it would scare him off. They were just dating, having a little fun. Still, she hoped he wouldn't run off.

"Okay." Dean dropped down in a chair when they reached the kitchen. "So, I still get the promise of a meal, right?" He asked with a grin. Piper grinned as well.

"I guess so."

Dean wasn't overly worried about Piper having a kid. She already knew that he wasn't staying in San Francisco long. He had probably two weeks at the most before his dad called. He doubted Piper thought it was more than it was.

* * *

Chris swallowed when he made it inside P3 and found Dean there, at the bar, talking to Piper. He watched them a moment. He doubted even they were aware of it but they were so close, Piper leaning over the bar towards him, smiling, ignoring everyone else in the club.

Chris almost smiled at the look on Piper's face when they started to get interrupted by people wanting to order drinks. Chris made his way over and briefly considered trying for a drink himself but decided on waiting. He really didn't want to see that look on Piper's face.

"Your face get stuck like that?" Dean startled him, sitting down in the seat next to Chris.

"Uh…what?" Chris stared at him a moment.

"I'm just sayin'. If you're gonna sulk all the time-"

"I'm not sulking," Chris cut him off.

"Brooding?" Dean asked.

Chris opened his mouth for an angry retort but stopped himself. "Okay, yeah. Maybe."

"So…you and Piper related?"

"Why would you think that?" Chris asked, really trying not to sound nervous. He'd been avoiding this.

"You're sleeping in the backroom of her club, aren't you?"

"I'm just…a friend." Chris shifted a little uncomfortably. He'd never been good at lying to this man. He got up abruptly. "Look, I gotta go. See you around."

"Uh huh."

Chris could practically feel Dean's eyes on him.

* * *

Dean frowned as the kid left. He wasn't sure why he'd been questioning the kid in the first place. There was just…something about him.

"Something wrong?" Piper asked behind him.

He turned to her and smiled. "Not really." He paused a moment and couldn't seem to help himself. "What's with the kid?" He relented.

Piper frowned herself. "Chris? He's…a friend of the family."

"That sleeps in your club?" Dean raised an eyebrow when she nodded. "What happened to his family?" Because, really, the kid didn't look much older than twenty, if he was that.

"I…I don't know." Piper's frown deepened and she stared off towards the back where Chris had disappeared. "He never said." She shook her head after a moment. "Why are you so interested?"

"Just curious," Dean answered, forcing a smile. He couldn't really explain himself. The kid just reminded him of something…or someone.

* * *

Chris leant his head back against the door and sighed. He didn't need those types of encounters. Having them both there was really starting to get to him. He walked over to the desk and sat dropped down in the chair.

He needed to focus. Put Dean and Piper out of his head. This wasn't about them, it was about Wyatt.

Then again…he pulled the journal out and turned once again to the very first entry. It could be about Dean…

* * *

_"We're not goin' to survive this." _

_"Yes, it is quite possible you are right." _

_"I know I am. Hell, how many times have I died already? At some point, it's gonna stick." _

_"At some point…" _

_"I need you to do somethin'. Cause I'm pretty damn sure that you'll be the only one standin' when this is over. I need you to make sure _they_ make it." _

_"Dean…"_

_"Please, Cas. I need you to promise me that." _

_"…Alright…."_

"You are playing a dangerous game, Christopher." Chris jerked his head up at the unfamiliar voice. A man stood on the bridge next to him, one he'd never seen before. Except…this was a dream, he knew that. It was always one of his family members…

"No, we have never met. I am here because of a promise made many years ago…" the man tilted his head thoughtfully. "Or, perhaps it would be best to say many years into the future if we are speaking of the time you are currently sleeping in."

"You're…you're from the future?" Chris asked with wide eyes. It was a dream, he knew it was a dream but it felt more real than any of his others.

"That is my doing," the man said, as if he was reading Chris' thoughts. He sat beside Chris. "Forgive me but I do not want this to fade when you wake up." He pulled the trench coat around himself and looked down at his hands.

"Who are you?" Chris asked. The man smiled.

"You know the answer to that question. It is in the journals you brought with you here."

"You're…" Chris trailed off, shocked.

"Yes. The holy tax accountant." He smiled again, this time with some humor.

"What are you doing here? I mean, this has got to be just a dream, right?"

Castiel simply shrugged. "It is a dream but it is also real. Dreams can be real. I am breaking rules by coming here but I made a promise to someone who saved the world at one time and I intend on keeping it."

"This is about Sam and Dean," Chris said with certainty.

"Yes. I've come with a warning. What you are doing here is dangerous but no one will interfere. The quest to save your brother is your destiny. No one will interfere with that _because_ it is your destiny but I have come to warn you not to interfere in Dean and Sam Winchesters destiny."

"What? But-"

"This is much bigger than the fate of your family alone. You see this as your only chance to save your brother, that things could not get any worse for your family than they were when you left the future but what lies in the future for Sam and Dean is much larger than the fate of your family alone." He looked out at the city a moment. "The angels have been planning their fate for quite some time. I…doubt you would be able to change anything."

"Dean and Sam tried once…" Chris had read about that too, about the time that Dean and Sam had gone into the past.

"And Michael made sure they failed. You know that as well. I do not wish for them to interfere with your mission here but I do not know if they would hold back if you try and change their plans for the Winchesters."

Chris fidgeted a moment. "They can't hear us now, can they?"

"No." Castiel smiled once again. "I have made sure of that. It is one reason I came back to speak to you this way."

Chris hesitated a moment. "You were there for a lot of what happened with them. You telling me that you never wanted to change any of it?"

"And if you do change it but not for the better? The angels are determined to go through with their plan. If they alter it, what do you believe would happen? What if next time, the Winchesters do not win the fight against Lucifer?"

Both of them fell silent and Chris frowned. He hated that Castiel was right.

"I must go now. Just remember how much worse the future could end up if you try and interfere with the Winchesters." He reached out and put a hand on Chris' shoulder. "Good luck with your mission."

An instant later, Castiel was gone and Chris woke with a start in the back of P3. He put his hands on his head, reeling from that little encounter.

Getting up, Chris walked over to the door. The club was closed but there was someone there. He opened it a crack and watched them a moment. Dean and Piper.

He turned back to the room and looked down at one of the journals, open where he'd knocked it to the ground while asleep.

Chris sat down. When he was growing up, after he'd found the journals, he'd always wanted to meet that angel that was talked about in them. Now, after meeting him, Chris felt overwhelming disappointment.

He couldn't deny it to himself. He had more than entertained the thought of changing more than just Wyatt's fate. But Castiel was right. How could he risk that? How could he risk the end of, not just his family, but the world if he messed something up?


	4. Chapter 4

"Hey!" Paige answered the door when Dean made it to their house to meet Piper. She was holding Wyatt in one arm and had her phone in her other hand, pressed against her ear. She looked a little frustrated…and worried. She stepped away from the door so he could come in.

"Piper'll be here in a bit….she had a little emergency."

"She okay?" Dean asked, following her towards the living room while she messed with her phone.

"Oh, yeah…it's just something at the club. You know how much she loves that place."

"Right." Dean frowned. She was lying. Her phone rang before he could decide whether or not to call her on it.

"I have to take this," she said. She hesitated a moment. "Do you think you could hold him for a minute?" She handed Wyatt over, either not hearing Dean's protests or ignoring him in favor of her phone. A second later, he was left alone in the room with Wyatt.

Dean shifted the kid in his arms and looked down at him, really hoped that Paige wouldn't take too long on the phone.

* * *

"We could really use some help here," Phoebe said in a low voice. "We're kind of pinned down."

"Okay…" Paige hesitated a moment and looked back into the living room. "What about Wyatt? I can't just leave him…"

"Isn't Dean there? It'll only take a few minutes. Ask him to look after Wyatt and come orb us the hell out of here!"

Paige thought she heard Piper protest this before the call was ended. Paige took a deep breath and sprinted back into the living room. She made a show of grabbing her keys and coat as quickly as she could.

"I gotta go. Emergency. Could you look after Wyatt? Thanks, it'll only take a few minutes." She didn't wait for an answer. She had to get her sisters out o fthe mess they'd gotten into before they both ended up dead. "Be good," she said to Wyatt, kissing his forehead. "Thanks!" She called to Dean. She went out the door and orbed out as soon as she was on the porch.

She reformed inside P3, behind the bar where Piper and Phoebe were taking cover from the four demons near the entrance.

"Finally," Phoebe said in relief.

"Wyatt?" Piper asked in a whisper.

"Dean was there…"

"Paige!" Piper's voice turned angry. "You left him with Dean? There's a reason why I haven't let Dean alone with him yet."

"Look, I know you guys haven't been together that long but I doubt he'd try anything. He's not going to hurt Wyatt."

"I know that. That's not what I'm talking about. Don't you remember how Wyatt was scaring off every guy that I went out on a date with after Leo and I broke up?"

"Uh, guys." Phoebe interrupted when an energy ball smashed into the side of the bar. "Don't you think we have bigger things to worry about at the moment?"

"Orb us out of here," Piper said, grabbing Paige's arm. After a second, she frowned at her sister. "Paige!"

"I'm trying." She paused a moment. "It's not working!"

"They're preventing it?" Piper paused, took the chance of glancing around the bar. "Two of them are gone." She tried blowing one up again but her aim was off.

"Set up?" Phoebe asked with some worry.

"Maybe they're not after us," Paige suggested a little hesitantly.

"Crap," Piper said.

* * *

Dean sat Wyatt down in the play pen and knelt beside it. He wasn't really sure what he was supposed to be doing.

"Really kinda hoping your aunt'll be back soon," he admitted to the boy. "I haven't been around a kid your age since Sam was a baby."

He heard it first. The noise coming from the kitchen. He tensed and had a moment to wish he hadn't left his gun in the car, had another moment of indecision because Wyatt was staring up at him. He wasn't alone.

He was used to making the split second decision, of course. He picked Wyatt back up and made it silently to the other side of the room, away from the door to the kitchen. He passed the fireplace and picked up the poker sitting there before stepped through the door to the hall and spotted the two men that came into the room just as he stepped out.

He was more than thankful that Wyatt had remained silent and a little more than confused about how the two men had made it into the house and all the way to the kitchen without him noticing.

Dean couldn't exactly fight, not while holding Wyatt and he couldn't risk setting Wyatt down. He was pretty confident in his own abilities but if they got through him or if there were any more in the house…

Dean only lingered a second, saw one of them flip the play pen before heading quietly towards the door. He figured his best course of action was to get Wyatt out first and then make sure Piper and her sisters didn't walk in on them.

Dean turned to the door just in time to see one of the men appear to block his past. And, he had simply appeared, not walked through the door. Dean heard the other man step out into the hall behind him. He hefted the poker.

He almost immediately suppressed the surprise he felt at the sudden appearance. He had twenty years of experience with that.

He turned slightly so he could keep an eye on both of them and felt another jolt of surprise when…something appeared in both of their hands. He was surprised, yes, but not stupid and he prepared himself to do the only thing he could do while still holding Wyatt.

He was further surprised, however, when he didn't have to duck, or run to the side to avoid the…whatever they were. Instead, something sprang up around he and Wyatt and whatever the men had shot at them bounced harmlessly off of it.

"What the hell?" Dean couldn't help it. He stood, stunned, as Piper and her sisters sprinted into the room…from the kitchen. Piper raised her hands towards one and Dean flinched when he blew apart. She did the same to the other.

He'd seen people die…too many people. There was no blood this time, only scorch marks where the two men were.

"Piper?" He asked, eyes wide. She chewed her lip, looked pretty damn nervous.

"Yeah?"

* * *

Dean was pacing, fingers pressed to his temple. Piper watched him from the couch in her attic. He was taking it better than she expected. He hadn't fainted anyway.

"Son of a bitch," she heard him mutter. When he looked at her, she saw the suspicion, the mistrust in his eyes.

"We're not the bad guys," she said, automatically defensive at the look on his face.

"Sorry but the last witch I met tried to gut me." Dean's response was sharp, defensive in its own right.

"The last witch…" Piper felt her own sense of unease grow. "You've met other witches…?"

"Not like this," Dean admitted. "More like the kind that plant hex bags in people's rooms so they can kill them without actually being there."

Piper stared at him a moment. "So, wait. You ran into one of these witches and they tried to kill you…look, I have active powers. That's what you saw down there. And I killed two demons, not two men."

Dean gave a skeptical little snort. "Right. Demons. I've heard of them. Real demons, I mean. Never seen one before. There's, what? Maybe one or two sightings in a year and even then it's mostly the kind that can't really possess someone long term."

Piper paused, her apprehension about the conversation not alleviated one bit. "What are you talking about?" She took a step back from him. "What are you?"

"What are you?" Dean retorted.

"I've already told you. You just don't believe me. My sisters and I are the good guys…the charmed ones-"

"The Charmed Ones?" Dean cut her off, voice incredulous. "That's a myth. So are witches with the kind of power you're talking about."

"It is not. You saw what happened down stairs."

Dean nodded after a moment. He seemed to be considering her words. "Okay, I am kinda willin' to believe almost anything is possible."

Piper hesitated a moment, chewed her lip. She didn't want to get burned here but she also didn't want Dean to go thinking she was evil. She didn't know him that well though, and this conversation just proved that, she wasn't sure how much she should tell him, if she should trust him at all.

They stood facing each other a moment, both indecisive. Piper reached for the book stand beside her finally and turned it towards him.

"Okay. This is what I am. Most of the things in here are things that me and my sisters have faced or someone in my family has, going pretty far back."

Dean seemed to hesitate a moment before he reached out to touch the book. Piper let out a tiny breath when the book didn't jump out of his hands the way it did with all demons. She watched as he read over the first page, the incantation to activate her powers and flipped through it.

"Okay," he said finally. He took a step back and ran a hand across his forehead. He looked like he was fighting with himself before he reached out and took her hand, started pulling her towards the door.

"Where are we going?"

"Seen what's in your trunk. Now I'm gonna see if you can handle what's in mine."

* * *

"So?" Dean asked after he lifted what she'd thought was the bottom of his trunk to reveal what was underneath. He was watching her warily. Piper got the distinct impression that he was more worried that she was lying about being one of the good guys than a negative reaction to his revelation.

Dean reached into the trunk and pulled out a few things. He passed over some newspaper clippings, reports on murders and such and then started going through the weapons there.

"Salt rounds," he said, handing over a shotgun shell. "For spirits." He shook a gas can, showed her the inside so she could see that it was filled with salt instead of gas. He pulled something else out and laid the bullets in her hand. He went through everything there, pointing out what it was used for.

"So, you're…what?" Piper asked, stunned herself. "Do you have powers?"

Dean snorted again, only it didn't have any humor in it. "Don't need powers to kill things." He took them back and closed his trunk again and then he explained what he did for a living, watching her reaction.

"You're trusting me with this?" She asked finally. "Trusting me to believe you're not crazy? There are guns in your trunk."

Dean shrugged. His gaze hadn't left hers. "If you're tellin' the truth, you've done the same thing." He paused a moment. "You believe me?" He asked after a moment.

"I…don't know. Do you believe me?"

Dean studied her a moment. "Yeah, I guess I do. Pretty sure I wouldn't be showing you this if I didn't." He pulled his keys out of his pocket. "I should go. I'll see you later."

Piper watched him leave. Despite his assurance that he did believe her, she was sure he had some doubt.

* * *

"So, there really are people who do this kind of thing?" Piper asked the elder. He'd said his name was Gideon and that he had known Leo for years. She couldn't ask Leo about this. That would have been cruel, bringing Leo down to ask him about her new boyfriend but she could call another elder…

"Yes. The world they hunt in is different from the world you and your demons live in. The world we look after. It is separate. There are many humans who take up the job of hunting the creatures that you and your sisters would never see."

Piper frowned at the elder. "So you don't get involved in their world?"

"No. There was an agreement made many years ago about that. The demons are quite different. They are nearly impossible to kill and they do not have corporeal bodies of their own. Some things that these…hunters go after are the same that you and your sisters have faced in the past. Spirits and such. But the demons are separate. They do not follow The Source and the demons in your world do not take orders from their leader."

"Who is their leader?" Piper asked. "And who's the higher ups on the good side for them?"

Gideon paused, thoughtful. "There are rumors. Even the demons in that world believe most of them to be myths as do most of the hunters. But there are myths that angels do get involved in that world."

"Angels?" Piper asked with a raised eyebrow. "You mean they have their own whightlighters?"

"No, I mean true angels."

"Like God's angels?" Piper's voice turned disbelieving.

"It is a myth but they believe wholeheartedly in Hell. They say that is where the demons of their world come from, where they were formed and that if that is true that their leader is the one that rules over Hell."

"Hell. You're saying that these…demons. They worship the devil?"

"Some, yes. However, they rarely show themselves these days. And even then it is mostly the weaker ones. These weaker ones do not have the energy to possess a person on a long term basis."

Piper nodded. Dean had said the same thing. "Why are they separate?"

"They have a long running agreement with the demons of your world. They do not interfere with each other."

Piper chewed her lip and thanked the elder for the information before he orbed out of her kitchen. She should probably talk to her sisters about this. It was a little overwhelming. Not quite so overwhelming as learning she was a witch but finding out that there was a whole other world of demons out there was unsettling.

At least she knew Dean was telling the truth now. She just wasn't sure what to do about it. The thing between her and Dean was supposed to be short term. They'd only been dating for a week. It wasn't long enough to develop feelings of love. The smart thing would be to let him leave like he planned, maybe break it off right then before she got involved in his world or pulled him any deeper into hers.

It wasn't long enough for love but it was long enough for a very strong like. And she did like Dean…a lot. She had felt like they hit it off pretty good.

She tried to picture long term and she could see herself potentially falling head over heels for Dean. It wasn't hard to imagine that happening.

She shouldn't let it get that far. She sighed, made a decision. Dean was leaving anyway…

* * *

"Hey," Piper said when Dean opened his motel room door.

"Hey." Dean opened it wider and let her in.

"I…uh, did a little research." She walked into the room.

"Yeah. Me too," Dean admitted. She nodded, sat down on the edge of the bed. Dean sat across from her in the chair.

"This is kind of…strange."

"Yeah." Dean frowned. "So…" He paused and gave her a half smile. "You can blow things up?"

"With my hands," she answered, returning the tiny smile. It dropped almost immediately, though. "When are you leaving?"

"Soon, probably. Actually, I probably should have been gone by now." He hesitating for a moment before standing.

"Alright. Probably better, right?" Piper asked a little uncertainly. She'd made her decision. But still, she didn't exactly want Dean to leave. She could at least admit that to herself. She really did like him. He was fun to be around. He was the first guy she'd dated since her and Leo broke up that made her forget that pain rather than amplifying it with guilt.

"I probably need to meet up with my dad soon…" He did step closer to her. She reached out and pulled him down for a kiss. He deepened it, pulled her closer and she got caught up in it.

"This goodbye?" She asked when she found herself on top of him on the bed.

He grinned. "Not sure yet." He pulled her back down for another kiss and Piper stopped thinking about it, at least for that moment in time.


	5. Chapter 5

_"So, what is it with flannel?" Piper asked from where she sat in the motel bed, pulling the cuffs of Dean's shirt over her fingers. _

_"It's cheap," Dean stated, lying down beside her and pulling her on top of him._

_"Oh. And did you buy this one with the money you 'earned' shooting pool?" _

_Dean grinned. "Hey, if somebody's stupid enough to play me, they don't deserve it." _

_"That the way you see it, huh?" _

_Dean nodded, flipped them suddenly so that he was hovering over her. He looked her over. "You know, you look really good in my clothes." _

_Piper laughed and he leaned in to kiss her. _

Piper stared at her phone, open in one hand while her other hand rested on her stomach. Dean's number was lit up and her thumb still hovered over the call button. Closing her eyes, and her phone, she leaned against the bathroom sink. The nausea crept up on her again but she remained perfectly still.

It had been several weeks since she'd seen Dean, since his dad had called and he'd left San Francisco. She'd only spent two weeks with him. Paige had suggested that it would help her move on from Leo. The problem? She _missed _Dean. She missed the way he'd made her feel in those two weeks. They'd stalled his leaving for days, right up to the point where his dad had called and they'd had to stop stalling.

_"You have to go," Piper said when he hung up his phone. She, however, made no move to get up from the bed or remove her head from his bare chest. _

_"Yeah." _

_Piper moved up so that she could kiss him. She didn't tell him that she didn't want him to go. She'd known this was coming from the first time she'd agreed to a date with him. _

_He pulled her on top of him and she forced a smile. "_This _goodbye?" _

_"Yeah. I guess it is." She ignored the uncertainty still in his voice. _

Piper's hand crept back to her stomach and she looked down. But this was truly unexpected. What the hell was she supposed to do?

Xxxxxxxxxx

_"Hey." Chris came over to the bar where Piper was working. He hesitated for a moment. "You alright?" _

_"Just not feeling my best." Piper forced a smile. She wasn't really paying much attention to work. She couldn't. _

_"Because of Dean?" Chris asked with a frown. It was stupid, asking but he couldn't help himself. _

_Piper jerked her head up. "What? Why…why would you ask that? Why would it be about Dean?"_

_"Whoa." Chris held his hands up. "I was just asking." _

_"Right." Piper sighed. "I'm just feeling a little sick, that's all." _

_"Oh." Piper didn't look up to see Chris' eyes widen. _

Chris was watching her suffer. He knew what was happening with Piper and he knew things would work out, at least for a little while, with her but he couldn't exactly tell _her _that.

He was terrified that if he tried interfering in this he'd make it worse. He really hoped this would play out the way it was supposed to.

He almost smiled when he really thought about it. Most kids wouldn't be feeling relief at learning their conception was an accident. Then again, most kids never had to worry that they'd made it so they would never be conceived at all.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Hello?"

"Dean?" Piper's voice was a little hesitant. She was a little hesitant. He'd left her his number in case she ever needed his help and she was about to drop a bombshell.

"Piper? Hey…somethin' wrong?" She almost smiled at the worry that immediately sprang into his voice.

"No. I mean, sort of…" She chewed her lip, hesitated again. "Where are you? How fast can you get back here?"

"Why? What happened? Are you okay?"

"Yes…it's not like that. I mean, it's not about your profession or my calling but…look, this isn't exactly something I want to be telling you over the phone. Can you just get here? It is important."

"Uh…yeah. I'll be there as soon as I can." The worry hadn't left his voice but Piper was telling the truth. She _couldn't _tell him this over the phone.

"Good. I'll see you then." She closed her phone before he could answer. She had to tell him though. He deserved to know. This wasn't a soup opera, it was real and in the real world he deserved to know, no matter what he decided to do with it.

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

"Hey," Piper said as brightly as possible when she walked into the kitchen and found her sisters there. She saw, out of the corner of her eye, her sisters exchange a look while she went to the fridge to grab a bottle of water.

"Alright. What is it?" She asked when she turned to them again and found them both staring at her.

Paige sighed and spoke up. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry about what?" Piper asked with a frown.

"For pushing you towards Dean," Paige clarified. "I really did think it would help you move on."

"You don't have to be sorry. It did help me move on."

"Yeah but I didn't think you'd fall for the guy…" Paige shrugged apologetically and Piper shook her head.

"I'm not in love with him," she pointed out because she _wasn't_. It took more than two weeks to fall in love with someone.

Piper sat down at the counter and looked away from her sisters. And that was what she was worried about, wasn't it? He was barely twenty five and had a profession that took him around the country looking for things that were technically already dead so he could kill them again.

"Maybe not but you did care about him," Phoebe spoke up, bringing Piper's attention back to them.

"Yeah…" Piper trailed off again.

"It's been weeks since he left," Paige pointed out, "and you're still bummed."

"It's not just about that," Piper said a little hesitantly but she didn't elaborate. She didn't tell them that she'd called Dean either. She was sure that her sisters wouldn't judge, that they'd be there for her but she needed to talk to him first. She needed to figure out what they were going to do first.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

The door jerked open almost as soon as Dean knocked on it. He stopped short a moment when Piper stood there and for a moment, he remembered the fact that out of all the women he'd hooked up with over the years, this one was the only one he'd ever truly missed.

"Hey."

"Hi." Concern shown in his eyes as he took her in.

"You got here faster than I thought you would," she said, opening the door wider and stepping to the side so he could come in.

"Yeah." He didn't elaborate, just followed her into the kitchen. The simple truth was that he was worried, afraid even. He knew Piper wouldn't call to ask him to come all the way back to San Francisco for something minor.

"Want anything to drink?"

"No." He paused, frown on his face. "I want you to tell me what's wrong." He caught her hand, turned her to face him. "Why are you so nervous?"

"Nothing, nothing…things are just a little…weird around here lately."

"Weird?"

"Yeah…you know. Weird. Kind of crazy. I mean, Paige works is working temp jobs and everyone one of her jobs so far has turned supernatural someway…Chris is still being all secretive and I swear that boy is more neurotic than I am and Leo is hanging around _way _too much because he says he doesn't trust Chris and actually thinks Chris is the one who trapped him in Valhalla…" She trailed off, seemed to realize she was rambling a little bit.

"None of which explains why you asked me to come here," Dean pointed out.

"Right. Sorry. Look, I know you probably never expected or wanted to hear from me again. I swear I never expected this to happen. And I know it's been a few weeks-"

Dean stood, leaned across the kitchen island and cut her off. "Piper, just tell me what's wrong." He was relieved when she sighed and gave in but the next words that came out of her mouth had him sitting back down heavily in stunned silence.

"I'm pregnant."

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

Piper watched his reaction warily. She'd been a _wreck _since she'd taken the test. Hell, since she'd first suspected she might be pregnant.

Not that she'd ever thought the idea of having children was a bad thing. She'd been ecstatic when she found out she was pregnant with Wyatt. That situation had been different, though.

Dean was several years younger than her with a job that required constant travel and a daily requirement of risking his life for strangers. Not so different from hers, except for the traveling and the magic.

She'd never talked about it with Dean because you don't talk about potential families with somebody you're only planning on spending a couple of weeks with at most, but she was pretty sure he'd never even thought about having a family of his own. How could he when, he'd admitted to her once when they'd been talking late at night at the motel he'd been staying at, he didn't even think he'd live past thirty. That little admission had bothered her, if she was honest.

So, the situation wasn't exactly ideal. The idea of having children, at least in her mind, had always come after the idea of love at least if not marriage. She couldn't blame if for the stunned silence.

"Are you alright?" She asked finally when the silence stretched on a little too long for her to take.

He gave a start and then nodded. "Yeah…great."

"I…I just thought you should know."

"Yeah…thanks."

Piper sighed and then Wyatt started crying on the baby monitor. "I gotta…" She gestured to it. "Maybe you should just…think about this."

Dean nodded and she got up and went upstairs.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Dean stared down at the ugly brown carpet of the motel room he'd somehow gotten after leaving Piper's. He was still so shocked he barely remembered the drive or paying for the room.

To say it was unexpected was kind of an understatement. She'd been right. He hadn't expected to ever see her again.

He'd never give thought to having a kid. Mostly because he'd never given thought to his future beyond hunting at all. He was made for the job. It was the only thing he knew and, unlike Sam, he didn't think he could ever do anything else. And kids? They just didn't fit into that.

He did love his dad but he was very much aware of how screwed up his childhood had been after his mom died and as much as he was committed to the job, he _knew _he'd never want any kid involved in it. So, no. The idea of having a family of his own was never something he saw in his future.

Not to mention the fact that he didn't think he'd ever be good enough to actually be a dad.

The thing was…when he thought about just leaving…for a moment, he allowed himself to picture the kid with his green eyes or Piper's brown…maybe with Sam's dark hair…and then a picture popped into his head of Sam when he'd still been a little kid and he heard a seven year old Sam asking him where Dad was after the man had left them for a hunt and forgotten the weekend he'd left them was Sam's birthday.

He jumped when his phone rang and he picked it up, staring at his dad's name on the display. He remembered the disappointment that had shown in Sam's eyes when he realized that Dad wouldn't be back for his birthday and, for the first time in his life, he let it go to voicemail.


	6. Chapter 6

_"I need your help," Chris said as soon as Kyle formed in the park. He glanced around a little warily. _

_Kyle ignored his words, instead glaring at Chris. "What are you doing, Chris? Do you have any idea how dangerous this is? You calling me? Me orbing here?" _

_"I'm aware. I'm not stupid, Kyle, but this is important. I have a way to save him." _

_Kyle stopped short at that. "Chris…" _

_"I'm serious. I know a way. It'll work, too. I can bring him back, save everyone." _

_Kyle watched him for a moment, refusing to hope. "How?" _

_"First things first." He stepped closer to Kyle. "I need you to do something for me. I need you to make me a whitelighter." _

_Stunned, Kyle shook his head. "I can't do that." _

_"You have to. You're the only one I can ask, the only one left. Leo's gone, all the other elders are gone. Leo gave you the power before he died, I know he did." _

_"I can't," Kyle repeated. _

_"You have to. Please, Kyle. I can do this." _

When Dean walked into P3, he'd gone there with the intention of at least talking to Piper this time. He'd been distracted, however by the sound of something crashing to the floor in the backroom.

"What the hell happened?" He asked when he opened the door and stepped into the room. Chris was struggling to lift himself up on the couch and Dean grabbed his arm, helped him sit down.

"I'm fine," Chris said when Dean looked him over.

"Uh huh." Dean's voice was skeptical. Blood stained the right side of Chris' shirt and, ignoring Chris' protests, Dean lifted his shirt to check the wound. The wound, which looked like it had been caused by some kind of knife, wasn't life threatening but it was deep enough to require stitches.

"So, I don't suppose I can take you to the hospital?" Dean took off his over shirt and pressed it into the wound, causing a pained hiss to escape Chris.

"I'd really rather you not."

"Right." He paused. "I'll get my first aid kit." He frowned before standing, however, remembered something Piper had told him. "Wait, I thought you could heal yourself."

Chris' eyes met his and he suddenly looked very nervous. Dean raised an eyebrow.

"So, I guess you're lying about more than Piper thought you were."

Chris closed his eyes and let out a sigh. "Please don't tell her."

Dean studied him a moment. "I'm going to get some thread…then you can tell me why I shouldn't."

_"Well?" Chris asked when he met Kyle for the second time. _

_"I'm not turning you into a whitelighter, Chris. I wasn't lying when I told you I can't."_

_"Kyle-" _

_He held up a hand, cut Chris off. "There is something I can do. Something I do have the power to do." _

_"What's that?" _

_"I can give you my orbing power." Kyle hesitated a moment. "I don't like the idea of you running around the underworld without the powers you inherited from the girls but I can help you pass as a whitelighter at least." He sighed. "You know your mom would kill me for agreeing to this if she were here." _

_"But she's not here, that's the point." _

_"Yeah…" _

_"Thank you for this. I promise I'll get them back." _

Chris was really trying to focus on the pain in his side. He'd been unable to convince Dean to let him take care of it himself and he was still trying to think of how he was going to get out of this. He'd blown his cover already.

Dean handed over a bottle of whiskey as he started threading the needle through his wound. That pain did take most of his focus.

"So, you gonna tell me why I should lie for you? What are you…if you're not what the girls think you are?"

"Not a whitelighter," Chris admitted.

"Yeah, thanks. I got that already."

"I'm half…like Paige." The lie didn't leave his mouth as easily as he would have liked. He blamed it on the pain and the fact that Dean was way too close. Dean pressed the bandage he'd brought into the wound with a little more force than necessary.

"You know, if you want me to lie for you, you might want to stop lying to me."

"I'm not lying," Chris insisted. "And how would you know anyway?" Frustration leaked into his voice at his own inability to pull off a convincing lie to this man.

Dean snorted. "You've got the same tell Sam has." When Chris remained silent, Dean started to get up. "Alright. Maybe I should go find Piper then…"

Chris grabbed his arm, stopped him. "Wait, you can't." He paused. "Look, I can't tell you everything but if you tell the girls, they won't let me anywhere near the book or Wyatt and I have to be there. I have to save him."

Dean crossed his arms. "Save him from what?"

"I don't know. You think if I knew I'd still be looking? What I do know is that if I don't save him, then everyone dies. The future I came back from…it's not a good place to live. I had to convince the girls I was a whitelighter to save them…to save everyone."

Dean studied him a moment. "The girls are gone in your future." It wasn't question but Chris looked down, nodded anyway. "You knew them, didn't you?"

Chris' head jerked up, surprise in his eyes. "How do you…?"

"That look in your eyes. You don't get that look for strangers." He sighed, rubbed the hand that didn't have Chris' blood on it through his hair. "Alright, I believe you."

Chris' head went down again, his dark hair falling into his eyes. "Thank you."

Xxxxxxxxx

Dean studied Chris as the kid fell asleep on the couch. The pieces were all there in his head. The kids mannerisms, the way he'd looked at Dean when he'd told the kid he believed him. It reminded him so strongly of Sam it was startling.

And the look in the kids eyes when Dean had asked about the girls? He was right. You did not get that look for strangers. He recognized it. He'd seen it in the mirror after his mom died, seen it in his dad. He'd seen it in strangers eyes after some spirit or whatever he was hunting got to one of their family members. People got that look for someone they cared about, someone they loved. For family.

Dean shook his head. He really needed to talk to Piper.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Piper had been wiping the same spot on the counter of the bar for nearly ten minutes, lost in thought. Her mind wouldn't rest. She couldn't stop thinking about Dean, wondering if he'd left. She was sure he wouldn't without at least calling her but the doubts still crept up.

She stopped when a hand was placed over hers, stopping the movement. When she looked up, she met Dean's eyes.

"You're still here," she said, unable to keep the surprise out of her voice.

"Still here." He paused, turned her hand so that theirs was entwined. "I'm not…I'm not leavin', Piper. I can't." He frowned a little and tilted his head, staring down at their hands. "I don't _want _to."

Piper gave him a small smile and nodded. She didn't want him to either. "Okay."


End file.
